Article excerpt

Dr. Henry Foster lost a crucial Senate vote in his bid to
become surgeon general Wednesday - a defeat President Bill Clinton
laid to an abortion "stranglehold" of the Republican Party. Clinton
pledged to keep fighting before a second vote today that could be
the final blow.

"This was not a vote about the right of the president to choose
a surgeon general," Clinton said. "This was really a vote about
every American woman's right to choose." Clinton made his comments
while appearing with Foster in the Rose Garden just after the
effort to break a Republican roadblock fell three votes short.

Foster, a Tennessee gynecologist-obstetrician, has said he
performed 39 abortions in four decades.

"Because he cannot pass the political litmus test that has a
stranglehold on the other party, they cannot even allow a simple
vote," Clinton said.

The 57-43 vote to cut off debate and clear the way for a final
confirmation vote was three votes short of the 60 needed.
Supporters have one more chance to prevail today, but their chances
appeared slim.

"I'm not through yet, and we're going to do our best to win
it," Clinton said. But Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a leading Foster
booster, conceded, "It's very tough."

In three hours of contentious debate, Republicans argued that
they were not just opposing abortion but felt Foster was not the
right candidate for the job - especially after the tenure of former
Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders.

Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., chairwoman of the Senate Labor
and Human Resources Committee that approved the nomination 9-7,
voted with Democrats Wednesday. But she still opposes Foster,
calling him "the wrong person to step into this badly damaged
office at this time."

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and other supporters said they
had singled out five Republicans who might possibly change their
votes. But they would not reveal the names. Sen. Mark Hatfield,
R-Ore., was named among those, as was Sen. John Warner, R-Va.

But Warner took to the floor to say his vote would not change
after his office received more than 100 calls Wednesday afternoon.

The vote Wednesday was to stop a threatened filibuster by Phil
Gramm, R-Texas, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination,
as is Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. …